Luggage unloader for railway cars



Apri! 22, 1930. y A. C. MCCORD 1,755,785

' LUGGAGE UNLOADER FOR RAILWAY CARS y y Filed Dec. l5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 K25/11.5751 mkg@ No() April 22, 1930. A. c. MccoRD 755,785

LUGGAGE `UNLOADEH' Foa RAILWAY cARs Filed Deo. 15, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

,Patented Apr. 22, 1930 ITEADSTATES' 1e0F-lleffCfE"Y A .iLvrN o Md'connbF CHICAGO, lILLINOIS nu,ecarriera.:.Ulvrmlamrrrc non RAILWAY CARS y.apprisgatita me@ 'December 15, 1927. seria1 No. 240,693.

l This invention v'relates to; luggage unload-` as is usually thelcase on.through fastptrains,`

the luggage piled'up in the vestibule-occu- Ypies somuch space that the luggage must .be unloadedflrst atfthe ,destinationxbefore the passengers can alight from I'the traina.' This requires thatM the passengersfwait 1 inl line.

the aisle of the caruntilthe porter can'pass y the luggage to thevstation porters who 'meet the train, and, when the vestibule is cleared of the luggage, thenfthe.portervopens up the'- trap and the passengers can vleave the'car.;

Allthis consumessometimeand-causes great annoyanceto .the passengers as itV prevents their immediateexit: from'the car as soonas thetraincomesto a'stop for unloading. ,The object of my inventionis to provide a luggage unloadingm'eans whichm'aybe in#v stalled in thevestibules ofthecar's aspartof the regularequipment andperxnit all. the lug-Y gage for a car .tobe rapidly and conveniently unloaded en masse from the vestibule as soon as the train stops,.andlthus allowV theupassen# gers to make immediate exit from* theV car without being ldelayed -by the unloading yof piledup luggage as heretofore.v a v f l Another yobject of my invention is to so construct and arrange the unloading mechanism thatit maybe shiftedfto either sideof the car so thatthe luggage'may be quickly and easily unloaded from'eithery side' as may be required yby ythe position of theunloading latform. f A further obj ectfof my invention is to pro'-` vide a collapsible 'container Vor carrierl into which the luggage is placedby thel porter so that the carriermay be collapsed linto a relatively smallcompact form and be stored away whennotused. n H v r i*V 'I A further'obj ect of my vinvention is to'provide theunloading 'mechanism witha crane Y l .A so Ythat the containerholding-the.luggage L- VIn the accompanying drawings'- may be vreadily swung out of the vestibule clear of the car and-be vdeposited on `the unloading platform from either side. .f Y' A further Yobj ectof my invention is to pro#` vide a trackwayfwhich is mounted in the vestibule high enough notto interfere. with .the

free passage through the vestibule yet per-y mit the crane-to be readily shifted from side to side of the car so that it may be swung out ofthe vestibule `ofthe car to carry the loaded container to theparticular sideV ofthe -car at the unloading platform.

r The inventionvconsists further in the mat; ters hereinafter described and claimed.l

f' 65 Fig. is a vertical sectional view through the vestibule o'fa Pullman car and showing `installed therein ffthe luggage Vunloading means 'y of' my j-invention,fthe section being taken-online i+1v of'FigjQ;H 7 Fig. 2v is a horizontal sectional view taken Online 2;-2 of Fig.V l; l Y

Figs. 3 and 4 are vert-icalV sectional views f showing details of construction, taken on lines S--S-and 4L-4., respectively, ofF ig. 1; and "5 Fig. 5fis a horizontal sectional view also showlngfa detail of construction and` taken onj line '5 5 of Figpl'.

Inrthe drawings, l` indicates thelfvestibule" of a ra-ilwaycar, vand 2 the wallv structure lbetween the body of thecar and the vestibule. SaidI wall 2 has the usual dorfopening' by means of which entrance and exit' may be had into andout ofthe bdyvofthe Car from the vestibule, as in car design.Vl n v 4 indicates generally therfront wallof the Y vestibule, and 5, 6 indicate the'door openings of the vestibule on oppositesides of thelcar, 7, 7 indicate the doors ofthe vestibule forthe openings' 5, 6, and these doors, asincar de` G0 sign, are hinged to' the wall structureQ and swing` in thevestibule against andaway from upright Vcolumns', 8 intheY front wall struc-V ture 4 vin the closing and opening of said4 doors. `These doors 'at their lower edgesl swing over hinged trap doors 9, 9, which when vin Vclosed or lowered .position extend over the steps 10, 10 of the car and form a continuation of the floor or. platform l1 of the vestibulein front ofthe .door opening 3as usual. y.

l die carriage: through a slot. 'provided between Arranged in the vestibule just inside of its front wall 4 and extending frompne column 8 Y tothe other is a track member 12 of my improved luggage unloading means. The track member 12 is rigidly secured in place near the top of the vestibule in horizontal position and in general alignment with the upper ends of the door openings 5 6 of the vestibule, as shown in Fig. 1. This positions the track member 12 high enough in the vestibule so as not to interfere with the-freefpassage through the vestibule from one car to another. Y The track member 12 is preferablymade in the form of a hollow housing in which is located ay traveling carriage 13. i This carriage in the form shown inthe drawings 1s provided with Y two pairsof rollers 14, 14 a'pair. atleach end of the carriage, 'andwhich rollers roll on inwardly extendingi'a'nges 15, lalong the bot- 'gomofthe traclway12. The-.carriage 13'has a dependinghanger 16 which extends below .L

the opposedinner edges of thetrack anges 15, 1 5, as shown in Fig.

. Y Arranged-belowthe track; member 12 isa crane-"17.preferably of I-beam section and having a horizontal arm or boom 1-18 and.I a. vertica-lfarin19., The crane 17 is ycarried by the roller ,carriage 1131so that the cranemay be shifted from one end of the trackwa-yto theV othergferV the purpose Ito-bepresentl-y de` scribed. The-crane; 1'( is suspended from the roller carriage l13 through the mediuln of a 'clampv 20Qwhi'ch engages about the 1upper rl'ange of the I-bea-msection. of the horizontal arni or bojom V18 and which clamp has a swivel connection with the lower Eend of the hanger 1,6.ofthe carriage, as indicated in Fig. 3. This swivel connection maybemade inI any desiredv manner,.oneway being illustrated generally`V 1n lF 1g. 3. VThis construction includes op-A posed circular portions 21, 22 on the hanger 16 and clamp 20, respectively, and an axis -mernber 23-,extending downward from the l, hanger 16 through. the center of the circular portion 22 ofthe clamp. and` having its lower end secured thereto by a nutor otherwise..

To permit the clamp anditscrane to turn easily with. respect tothe hanger 16, ballv bearings 24 arelocatcd between the circular Y portions 21, 22 in grooves or raceways provided in` said portions for the balls. v f Arranged totravel on the lower horizontal flange of the boom or arm 18 are a. pair ofV rollers25, 25 whichv are carried. by'V a yoke 26- collapsible luggage receiving container or receptacle 33. The latter is made so that it can be readily collapsed into a relatively flat compact form and thus be stored away when not in use. A number of brackets (not shown) may be 'provided in the vestibule to receive and support the collapsed container when itl'is not in` service.A

`The, container 33 is provided at its lower end with a. numbervof casters or other rollers 34am-that'thefcontainer, either when loaded or empty Amay be readily moved back and forth "over the-platform l11 and the traps 9, 9 of the vestibule. `The container is Vheld in a distended or set up position by suitable locking links 35 at the opposite sidesof the container, as shown. in Fig. 1.

The crane l'has'the lower Vend of its verticali arm 19` form-edf to provi-de a: trunnion` 36 'which' is; adapted toy be clamped: in: either' one Vmember-39 of` each split bearing is held in closed-.jpositierrabout the trunniony 36 wheny the l-'atteris inthe bearing by a removable locking 'pi-nf 40 which` is insertedV through: registering lholfesin ears,1l1,fz4:2. carried:V on the hingedamemberfof thebearing and the bracket 38,A respectively, as shown-niFig. 1.`

`'The mechanism shown@ and described is operated; as follows: rlfhe Aporter or attendant distends the. Container 33' and locks it in` its distended:V form by the'locking links 35, 35. Atthisftim'e thecontainer'is not engaged with the'hook31so that it may be moved Aover the floor of thevestibulev into any position. mostconvenient for'loading it with thehand luggageffthe passengers of the car. Theloaded containerg3'3- maybe shoved' tooneA side of lthe vestibulesoe'as to' beV out of theway of the door opening V3 and the other. passageof the vestibule,` which. leads to. thef next adjacent ear..n Asthei train pullsK into :the terminal or sta-tion, theport'er notes on which side of the car the unload-ing platform: islocated and opens thedoor'f `of the vestibule on that side of the carfwhelr the train comesto astopx. If

the: crane17 is on that side of the vestibule, thel porter shoves the' loaded container 33V underV the: crane ancl',tlie1rengages the bails 32, 32 with thehook. 31 of the chainzbl'ock,` and,

by manipulating the cha-in ,b'lo.ck,hoists. the

loaded container free of the floor of thevestihule.` He then pushes the loaded container out of the vestibulel through' the open door'- way, the craneturning on its pivots (aligned swivel. and trunnion 36)? andits boom or arm.l

18xpassing outward: through the doorway and carrying the loaded containertherewith, as' shown dottedI lines in Fig.. 2i ff the container mvthis movement is not-completely free'ofthe'vestibule,fthe containerf'is pushed unloading side ofthe car, Vthe porter then.

to the-outerend of the boom 18, whereupon the loaded container is lowered to the station platform by the porter manipulatingtheV chainblock 28. The station porter moves the loaded container to one side of the steps of the car, whereupon the car porter opens .the trap 9 and the passengers alight from the car, all within a'fewseconds after lthe train has stopped with no piled up baggageor luggage to interfere with or delay their exit from the l car as heretofore.

Should the crane 17 be onV the side of the car opposite the unloading platform when I, the train pulls in, the porter will, after opening the door 7 of thevestibule on the sideof the unloading platform, release the lower end ofthe crane from the split bearings 38, 39, at VAthe sidev of the car opposite the unloading platformand then shiftthe entire crane to the unloading sideof the" car through the medium vof the roller-carriage 13 andthe trackway'12. When the crane reaches the clamps the trunnion`end36 of the. crane in the splitV bearings-at thatside of thel car so that the crane may be swung beyond the side of the car and permit the loaded container 1 heretofore. described,

- the roller carriage may be llocked against accidental movement'at either end of the trackway. .c v By reason ofthe mechanism shown and (lescribed, the hand. luggage of passengers of the car may be unloaded .en masse from. 5 the vestibule of the car with easel and dispatch-and within av few seconds after the train Vhas arrived at Yits'destination so that the passengers are not delayed in the aisle of the car awaiting the unloading of the yluggage-'as'.heretofore'. This is a decided advantage in connection with unloading of the car because the container 33 provides a re-4 ceptacle to receive and hold the luggage, and the Vcrane 17 andthe rest ofthe mechanism permit the loaded container to be vreadily vswung out of the vestibule of the vcar and lowered to the station platformfin avery short time, so that unloading ofthe car may be quickly accomplished immediately thtv the train has arrived at the terminal.

main support 12, thereby allowing said support to be located close to the top of the vestibule.A 1

The details of structure and arrangement i i of parts shown and described may be Variousfrom the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention: 7 1. The combination with the vestibule of a railway'car, of a container for hand luggage, a trackway in the vestibule and extending ly changed and modified without departing 70 vCA from side to side thereof, a crane supported by said trackway and shiftable along the same to either side of the vestibule, said crane Vhaving a vertical arm and a horizontal arm, vmeans fixed in the vestibule at the opposite sides thereof andproviding apivotal sup-y port for the'vertical arm whereby the hori- I zontalfarm may be swung into and out of the vestibule toV either sidey of the car, and a hoisting device carried by the horizontal arm the vestibule aty either sidel of the car.

lwhereby the container may be lowered from f 2. The combination with the vestibule of a railway car, of a container for hand vluggage, a trackway mounted in thefvestibule and extending from sidefto side thereof, a crane having-a vertical arm and a horizontal arm, afrollercarriage provided on the trackway and having a swivel'connectionwith the yhorizontal arm whereby the crane lmay be shifted Valong the Vtrackwayto either side of the vestibule and the horizontal arm be swung r into and out of the vestibule at either side of the car, split bearings fixed in the vestibule at opposite sides thereof to provide a pivotal supportrfor the lower endy ofthe vertical arm at either side of the vestibule, andl a hoisting device carried by the horizontal armV 'Y' wherebyV the containermay be lowered fromv the vestibule at'eitherk side of the car. 'y

3. The combinationl with a railway car, o a container for luggage, .a track way within the car and extending across thesame from one side thereof to the other, a carrier shift- .able along vsaid track way, an arm pivotally connected with said carrierwhereby the arm `may be swung into and out of the car when at either end of said trackway, and a hoisting device carried by said arm whereby the container maybe vswung out of the .car on said arm and be lowered for loading or unloading.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

- ALVIN o. Masoni);

mechanism of my invention willbe installed c v in each of the two vestibules of the car, so thatl the car maybe quickly unloaded at either.-

end. It will be observed thatall ofthe operativev mechanism' of the devicev is located bei low the upper surface of thetrack way or 

